Is Twitter really enhancing user experience? | SocialExcerpts

Is Twitter really enhancing user experience? Sep 21

Twitter is all in for a revamp of the profiles for better user experience and along with that subtly embedding each building block with better business plan. It is slowly and incrementally improving advertisers reach on their services, one change at a time. Twitter now has two different points of view on feature announcements, one for their official blog and another for their advertising blog – shifting towards advertisers end versus the user experience.

Twitter’s advertising blog post says, the profile changes are “a richer way to showcase your brand and engage consumers”. Average users will be able to add a new profile header too but they may not need to brand themselves.

From what we have observed, Twitter is a much focused company, but with passing time, it is potentially eyeing an IPO (Initial Public Offering) for its business.

Now when you see a company profile page, you will see a big brand name followed by a small @Username, an enormous header photo followed by a small display picture next to each tweet, photos you share on the sidebar, without having to scroll, a pinned tweet at the top of the timeline of the current promotion, and last, but not the least, traditional flow of the tweets. The tweets are also curated from the @replies which lets the brands interact with their customers without cluttering their feeds, which will, for sure, improve user experience.

Also if you want to follow any adult brands, such as alcohol, you will be required to submit your age. Your favorite brand will now be much easier to find, thanks to the new improved search box.

Twitter wants to be a $100 billion company and not a billion dollar company and they have made it very clear from the aggressive attitude they have taken. It is prudently focused on improving long-term situation, shaping the product so that it stays stable for a long period of time. As one of the biggest consumer company, Twitter has to concurrently deal with users and advertisers. It’s no small feat.

The launch of the new Twitter app for iPad is another example of how serious Twitter is about advertisement. The new iPad app is not an improvement in user interphase. It is just an enhancement of the iPhone app but it did kill the most innovative UIs on the iPad. There is an emphasis on profiles and Twitter Cards, which clearly states that Twitter is ready for advertisers.

Over the past few years we have seen many platforms with shortest of the lifespans. It’s a very competitive market and if Twitter has to survive, it has to balance its act not just for thoughts but for expression by the brands and users alike.

Is Twitter really working towards user experience or is there a greater motive behind the revamp of their interphase. Let us know your views.